Shoe

 

You already know that I am a huge fan of the comics, and I still read more than a dozen of them every day, courtesy of the Arizona Republic.

https://tohell-andback.blogspot.com/2018/04/i-love-comics_23.html

One of my favorites is Shoe, which was started by Jeff McNally in 1977. Although he died of lymphoma in 2000 (age 52) the strip lives on today, and is penned by his widow Susie and fellow cartoonist Gary Brookins.

https://www.gocomics.com/shoe/2021/01/19

McNally is one of 5 people who have won the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning three times. (1972, 1978, and 1985).  In 1977, he received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement. In addition, he won the Reuben Award in 1978 and 1979, and the "Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year" from the National Cartoonists Society in 1978 and 1979.

MacNelly won the Thomas Nast Award  in 1985, and he also won a George Polk Award the same year.. He was the first cartoonist inducted into the UNC School of Journalism Hall of Fame in 1985.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_MacNelly 

In 1993, at the suggestion of his wife, he also launched “Pluggers”, which relies on reader submissions (referred to as "Pluggerisms") for the premise of each day's panel. In the context of this strip, "pluggers" are defined as rural, blue-collar workers who live a typical working-class American lifestyle, accompanied by a mentality characteristic of the G.I. and Baby Boomer generations. In the comic, pluggers are portrayed in the form of anthropomorphic animals, most often a plump bear, dog, chicken, or rhinoceros, sometimes a kangaroo or a cat.

https://www.gocomics.com/pluggers/2021/01/23

Some of our better journalists have provided political commentary for decades. Tom Brokaw recently retired (at the age of 80) from NBC, where he had worked for 55 years.

https://www.ocregister.com/2021/01/22/after-55-years-at-nbc-news-tom-brokaw-announces-retirement/

Walter Cronkite, “the most trusted man in America, was the anchor for CBS Evening News for 19 years, and Hugh Downs was the anchor for 20/20 (NBC) for more than 20 years.

Like the TV anchors that we know and trust, many of the best cartoons remain in print for decades. “Pogo” lasted 27 years, “Li’l Abner lasted for 43 years, “Shoe” has been in print for 44 years, and Doonesbury was first published 50 years ago.

Jeff McNelly has been gone now for more than 20 years, but his genius lives on today in “Shoe” – a strip that is strictly for the birds.

 

 Perfesser Cosmo Fishhawk is an over-educated underachiever. He is the reporter and columnist for Shoe's newspaper, The Treetops Tattler-Tribune although he'd much rather be a famous novelist. Even though he's slightly on the chubby side, Cosmo insists he's not fat... he's just fluffy. When not fighting his war on calories, he specializes in being late for work, striking out with the ladies and taking naps at his desk.

 

 

 

 

 

For want of a nail

The phrase above refers to the fact that a major catastrophe can sometimes be traced back to a small error. The lack of a basic part or a small object can lead from one unwanted consequence to another larger one to yet another one, as in a stack of falling dominos.

That ancient poem came to mind recently for an unlikely reason - COVID. That, of course, requires a fuller explanation. 

Until sometime in the late 1970’s, the cars that I owned were relatively simple from an electronics standpoint. Years ago, I changed my own oil, did my own tune-ups, rotated my own tires, and watched and waxed my cars frequently. 

The owner’s manual for my 1972 Opel suggested changing the spark plugs every 6000 miles, and gave instructions on gapping the points, setting the dwell angle, and gapping the plugs. Today’s cars are a lot more sophisticated, since there are LOTS of electronic components in a modern car, and all of them require computer chips. Today, spark plugs are good for 100,000 miles, and tune-ups can only be performed by a dealer (who also will rotate your tires for you) 

 The first computer chip was invented in 1958, and life today would be impossible without them. Computers, phones, televisions, and electronic games would not work as well, and possibly not even at all. 

http://gria.org/history-invention-silicon-chip-computer/ 

 Since March, a large part of our population has been forced to stay at home, giving us a lot of times on our hands. To fill that time, we spend more time on our computers, (often connecting by Zoom), we’ve been watching more movies on our DVD players, and we’ve been buying lots of electronic games that we played on our Xboxes. All of those things require computer chips. 

So do cars. 

Recently, several car companies had to shut down production of some of their models because they were unable to buy enough computer chips. Since modern cars can contain approximately 100 computer chips, the lack of a handful of them can prevent car manufactures from assembling their cars.

 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/13/business/auto-factories-semiconductor-chips.html?action=click&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage&section=Business 

Although Samsung is best known for its consumer products, like smart phones and televisions, the company also happens to be the world’s largest computer chip manufacturers. Its computer chip sales are in excess of $200 billion a year. Intel, a California-based company, is a distant second, with annual chip sales of around $70 billion a year. 

 https://blog.bizvibe.com/blog/top-semiconductor-companies 

All this brings us to the modern version of the old poem:

 For want of a chip, a car could not be built

 If a car could not be built, it could not be sold 

If a car could not be sold, a salesman could lose his job 

If he loses his job, his family becomes poor 

If his family becomes poor, he needs help from taxpayers to survive 

If too many people need help, the country goes broke 

And all for the want of a chip

Angels we have heard on high

The Newsroom television show, starring Jeff Daniels, was on the air from 2012 through 2014. The most famous episode of the series (for which Jeff Daniels got an Emmy award) was when a young woman asked him why America was the greatest country in the world. He answered that America is only #1 in the world in 3 categories – the number of incarcerated people per capita, the percentage of the population that believes in angels, and defense spending. 

I’ve already written some articles about the first and third topics, so I’d like to address the second, which is angels.

 An Associated Press survey from about 10 years ago found that 77% of the American population believes that angels are real. Although Italians and Croatians also believe in angels, their percentages are somewhat less, and most counties are a lot less. 

I was an insurance underwriter for 25 years, so I don’t believe anything that I haven’t researched personally, which is why I am convinced that the story of Noah’s ark is a myth. 

https://tohell-andback.blogspot.com/2013/04/noahs-ark-and-othe-rfairy-tales.html#:~:text=Noah%27s%20ark%20-%20and%20other%20fairy%20tales%20If,related%20to%20the%20ark%20are%205%3A32%20-%2010%3A1.

However, I DO believe that angels exist – even though there is absolutely no way to prove that. There have been numerous times in my life that I avoided disaster for no apparent reason, and “the luck of the Irish” was not always fail proof. 

In the 1946 movie, “It’s a Wonderful life” Jimmy Stewart’s character had an angel named Clarence. I don’t know his name, but I’m pretty sure that I’ve got a guardian angel watching over me from time to time so that no harm befalls me. 

By the way, I also believe in ghosts – and so does 45% of the American population. If you need more convincing, I’d recommend reading “True Irish Ghost Stores (St. John Seymour and Harry Neligan), “Ghosts of the Heartland” (Frank McSherry, Charles Waugh, and Martin Greenberg), and “Resurrection Mary” (Kenan Heise). 

Now it’s time to talk about the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

The house that Mary, Joseph, and Jesus lived in (in what eventually became Palestine) was moved in the latter part of the 13th century to Dalmatia to protect it from Muslim soldiers during the Crusades, and eventually moved to Italy. 

Both moves were facilitated by angels. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_della_Santa_Casa 

This is the part where my “bullshit detector” kicks in. 

As it turns out, it’s a true story.

 In the 13th century, a noble Byzantine family, the Angeli family, was responsible for both moves. The name “Angeli” means “angel” in both Greek and Latin. The modest house in Palestine was much modified over the centuries, and eventually it evolved into the Basilica della Santa Casa, which is located in Loreto, Italy. 

The basilica is also known as the Madonna of Loreto. Christopher Columbus made a vow to the Madonna of Loreto in 1493 when he and his crew were caught in a storm during their return journey from the Americas. He later sent a sailor to Loreto on a pilgrimage of thanksgiving on behalf of the entire crew. 

Queen Christina of Sweden offered her royal crown and sceptre to the Virgin Mary in Loreto in 1655 after her conversion from the Lutheran faith to Catholicism. 

Napoleon plundered the shrine and its treasury on Feb. 13, 1797, taking with him precious jewels and other gifts offered to the Virgin Mary by European aristocracy, including several French monarchs, over the centuries. Yet, the object of real value in the eyes of pilgrims, the Holy House of Mary, was left unharmed. 

In a homily in 1995, Saint Pope John Paul II called the Holy House of Loreto, “the house of all God’s adopted children.” 

 https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/did-angels-really-carry-the-holy-house-of-mary-to-loreto-italy-25088#:~:text=Catholic%20pilgrims%20have%20flocked%20to%20the%20Holy%20House,born%2C%20raised%2C%20and%20greeted%20by%20the%20Angel%20Gabriel. 

There is virtually no chance that I’ll ever get to see the basilica in person. In fact, due to the coronavirus, there is also zero chance that I’ll ever leave the country again, which makes my trips to Ireland and China all the more special. 

 The year 2020 was one of the mot bizarre years that I have ever lived through, but I AM hopeful that 2021 will be much better. I you are still feeling stressed about the news that we all get on a daily basis, take a minute or so to gaze on an old basilica in Loreta, Italy, because it will likely bring you comfort. 

After all, that’s what angels do.

Being the Pope can be a tough job

 

The Pope has a tough job, since he is the spiritual leader of 1.329 billion people (at the end of 2018.)

When Pope Francis was elected in 2013, I thought that he was too old for the job, since he was 76 years old at the time. He is still the pope today, and he is now 84 years old – and still going strong.

Even if you aren’t a history buff, I’d recommend that you watch the 2019 movie, “The Two Popes”, since it discusses the transfer of power from Pope Benedict to Pope Francis.

(When Joe Biden announced his candidacy, there were a lot of people in this country who thought he was too old (he recently turned 78) but he was running against a man who is 74. If Biden decided to run again in 2024, he would be 86 years old at the end of his second term, if he was re-elected)

Throughout history, there have been a number of Popes who had very short tenures. In fact, a total of 9 Popes reigned for less than 30 days, and 2 Popes reigned only for 33 days.

A total of 10 Popes served 20 years or longer, and the longest serving Pope was Pius IX, who served for more than 31 years. 

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_popes_by_length_of_reign

Since Popes generally are older when they are elected, it is not unusual for a Pope to die in office. As a result, it is common for 2 different people to serve as a pope in a given year. There have also been 12 times when there were THREE different Popes in one year, and there is one year (1276) when there were FOUR different people to serve as the Pope in a given year.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_of_three_popes 

There was also a period of time (1378 – 1417) when three popes served AT THE SAME TIME. Pope Clement was the Pope of Avignon (France), Urban was the Pope of Rome, and Alexander was the Pope of Pisa.

https://www.interesly.com/medieval-three-popes-antipope/#:~:text=Between%201378%20and%201417%2C%20three%20popes%20actually%20reigned,papacy%2C%20Italians%20really%20wanted%20a%20pope%20in%20Rome.

Although Pope Francis is a busy man, he has still managed to write 27 books. I’ve read “Laudato Si”, and I’ve read a book ABOUT Francis, but trying to read ALL his books would be a Herculean task.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=books+by+pope+francis&hvadid=77996737481119&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvqmt=e&tag=mh0b-20&ref=pd_sl_1r2ieb9aki_e

I’m of the opinion that Pope Francis is doing a good job, but he is not well liked by the more conservative members of our society. To those folks I would say, “give him a break – he’s got a tough job”.